Minister to visit Northern Cape schools

Johannesburg - Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga will visit the Northern Cape where 41 schools have been closed due to intimidation, her office said on Friday.

Spokesman Panyaza Lesufi said Motshekga planned to visit the district on Wednesday, after receiving an 18-page report compiled by an education task team.

A total of 41 of the 65 schools in the Johan Taolo Gaetsewe district municipality, which includes Kuruman, have been closed since June because of residents intimidating children. Locals had been protesting over a lack of tarred roads in the municipality.

Children in the province had still not returned to schools, provincial education spokesman Sydney Stander said on Wednesday.

Stander said meetings with church leaders were being planned to encourage parents to send their children back to school.

The Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa visited Olifantshoek on Monday, where he met residents who had demanded the mayor's resignation amid accusations of corruption.

“The fundamental issue is that learners must return to school. That is the ultimate goal of the minister's intervention,” Mthethwa's spokesman Zweli Mnisi said.

Mnisi said resolving the issues in the town was a collective effort.

Following discussions chaired by Mthethwa, it was agreed that a task team including community representatives, local government and education officials, and the police, be formed to resolve tensions in Olifantshoek. - Sapa